Dream Light
by Shanaxis
Summary: Imagine if we could all go to sleep and meet up in our dreams? Shidou Yume tries his hands at the D-KNT, a device that links him up to the dream server, where he discovers a new world of limitless potential. Everything is going fine until Shidou meets someone familiar. It is by chance that this mysterious person looks exactly like his childhood crush?
1. Chapter 1

Dreams have been an unnecessary but ever-present entity that comes and goes as it chooses. They are as vast as the sky, yet no two seem to ever be identical. While some are better than others, most of the time people are glad that dreams are just fantasy and quickly forget that they ever happened and get on with their lives. But what if dreams held a deeper meaning to them? Could we control our dreams voluntarily at the clap of a hand? Chronic lucid dreamers would probably scoff at the fact that many people would wish for their inherent ability to control everything in a fictional space for a brief amount of time. All of this came to mind when he recalled the news from this morning.

A company called HIDE (Human Interconnecting Dream Enterprise) has just released their new product, the D-KNT or Dream Konnect. The idea behind this was thought up by some mad scientist once before, however when people tried it, it caused a huge panic to society as the creator designed it so that when people enter this, they would be locked in with no way of escape. His invention connected the brain to the headset which prevented the brain from making people's real-life body move when they were moving in the fictional world. Since then people have been provided hospital beds to keep their bodies alive. Suddenly, 2 years later, people finally woke up. The secret to whatever happened during that time remains a mystery, however, the technology was handed to the trusted company HIDE who had successfully overshadowed its previous dark past and breathed new life into it.

Today was going to be his first time trying it. He looked at the clock just as the hour hand had past two, anxious about trying it on. He had a few friends in his class that talked about it day in and day out and, as far as he knew, there had been no negative reports on the device, so far. The D-KNT had a large dome shape equipped with a chin strap to keep it centred. The design was minimalistic with a black overall colour and a white stripe at the top that reached from end-to-end. After a rather long one-sided debate in his head, he eventually caved in and threw it on. After carefully adjusting the straps and making himself comfy on his single bed, he squeezed his eyes shut as it worked its way around the curves of his head. Several minutes must have passed as a single sweat drop rolled down his face, onto the pillow. Suddenly a wave of vertigo overpowered his senses as he drifted into a deep sleep. He found himself in an empty place. He felt weightless like he had no mass. He tried to look around, but his eyes were not there. He felt conscious but did not have a body. It's a strange feeling, like being transformed into a single particle and being pulled in by the strongest force in the universe. The only logical conclusion was that this peculiar feeling was due to him being transferred as data. Several moments passed before he was pulled into a large facility of some sort. People started popping into existence around, most likely just as confused as he was.

"Welcome to the D-KNT registration area. You are user #1372. Please enter your details." The automated voice-over read out instructions one-by-one and he selected the options accordingly.

"Name…Shidou Yume… Age… 16…gender…male…"

"You're all set! enjoy your stay here! As a thank you bonus for being one of the first 5000 to start using D-KNT, we have granted you an extra 100 credit chips that you can begin with. Be sure to use them to your advantage! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask a DPC for help! Take care now!" After another flash of bright light and forced squinting, he felt himself being taken away to another place. Powerless to stop it, he looked forward to whatever awaited him. Shidou walked through a gate which led into a new world. A large sign hovering above the exit catches his attention: "Main hub- 10m" he quickened his pace into a light jog as he reached the exit. His feet adjusted from metal to grass with a gentle brushing noise as a sweet smell found its way into his nose, tickling his senses. His first instinct was to start exploring his surroundings. Shidou felt like a child again; full of wonder and excitement. Every direction he looked at had something new and bewildering to discover. The bright pink tinted sky formed a light shadow above everything below it, making the area pleasant and stress-free for their eyes. Platforms bobbed up and down, leisurely orbiting the entire area above their heads, welcoming any curious guests with various signposts attached to each. They varied in shapes and sizes; some more jagged and cylindrical and others looked like cut-out icecaps. The busy chit-chat of people filled the air. Shidou overheard someone mention a new construction that was finally completed after several months of waiting. Just as he began to head off into the town to collect information, a familiar sounding voice shouted his name.

"Heeeey! Shidouuu! over here!" Shidou jerked his head in shock over to the source of the noise, to find a girl around his age with a large grin over her face. Upon closer inspection, however, He matches the over-energetic voice with the face of the girl.

"Wha- Yui? what are you doing here?" There was a reason that Shidou was so surprised. Contrary to belief, it's not because he was shy to find one of his friends there in the fictional world, instead, the girl that he was looking at with the over-sized grin on her face was Yui Suzumiya. She made herself very clear that she had no interest with D-KNT, to the point where she stopped talking to several of her classmates who constantly talked about it during recess. What could have possibly compelled her to have a change of heart- and this quickly as well! Perhaps she received one as a gift from her parents and thought that she would at least try it out, but it seemed more than that. It seemed more like she voluntarily put it for some other reason. Regardless of the reason, he would have to find out later, lest he wanted to spend another day in pain whenever he kept her waiting. Shidou quickly covered the distance between them and soon they were at eye level. She looked a bit different compared to what he remembered. Her long pink hair which was previously tied up neatly into a ponytail now rest over her right shoulder, slightly frizzled. Her clothes were out of the ordinary from what he could tell. The rest of her was the same as in person. A short sky-blue dress cuts off at just above her knees and various patterns can be seen scattered near the rims. He usually only saw her in their boring school uniform, however, he could still see that her choice of clothing was rather strange. He had imagined that she would wear something more… sporty and easy to move around in. That would have matched her personality more, however, Shidou thought this was pretty good too, she looked more feminine than usual. He clears his thoughts, keeping his guard up, lest she tries some trick on him and he spends another day writhing in embarrassment. However, the one thing that has not changed and the sole reason why he recognised her immediately was due to her bright blue eyes that would drown out all the colour around them until there was nothing left. They first met when she moved into the neighbourhood. She lived right across the road from Shidou and they went to the same primary school, so naturally, they became close friends. One day when they sneaked out to go on an expedition of sorts, a wild dog attacked them, causing them to split up and become lost. Yui was still new to town and couldn't find her way back. This caused the expedition to be put on hold as he leads a one-man search party. After an hour of searching, he found her in the bushes due to 2 teary blue eyes popping out in the night. The thing that makes Yui special is that her eyes appeared to glow brightly in the dark, like a blue candle that dances with the wind.

"Hey Shidou perfect timing! I just finished my errand and earned a hefty seventy credit chips! Crazy right?"

"oh… oh yeah! right I remember it mentioning the credit chip system, but I'm not too sure what it is." Shidou notices a slightly smug grin appear on her otherwise innocent face.

"Oh silly Shidou, ignorant as always, guess you didn't read up about it did you? I guess I can tell you a little about it. You see the currency here is called credit chips. You can exchange them for cosmetics, activities and much more at various vendors. You got some upon entering right? Everyone begins with a base value of 100 and it resets to this value every twenty-four hours server time points to the large clock in the centre of town so don't be afraid to use them! Saving them up is also no use as you have a limit of 10,000 at any given time and they reset at the end of the day anyway. You can earn them just like I did a while ago by completing various jobs, kinda like quests in video games for reference and are the rewards. The harder the job, the bigger the reward. Careful though, fail either from running out of time or other means sacrifices your valuable credit chips so watch out alright!" Yui said as she winked her bright blue eyes at him, emphasizing its importance.

"Wait did you say that everyone starts with 100 credit chips? They started me with 200 since I was one of the first ones to try out the D-KNT."

"What are you talking about? Everyone starts with 100, you're being delusional, let me check your- wha? you really do have 200 as a base value? What did you do to get the extra?" Yui seemed to be more annoyed than interested as she interrogated him further, her blue eyes lowering in doubt. Anyone's guess is probably as good as his. After all, they told him that he got this extra for being early, but is there more to it than that? A glitch in the system perhaps, or a one-in-a-million random chance that he happened to be picked for this gift. Either way, he didn't understand why she's overreacting like this, it's not that big of a deal is it? Sure this is an advantage, but it's not that much more, so it's not going to be a problem. He concluded that he should probably keep this information to just between him and Yui though. "I guess the developers just really like me then, I'm the next saviour of mankind."

"Right… you keep telling yourself that." Yui said, rolling her bright blue eyes over to a sign that rested on the ground. "anyway, check this out! there's a new area that was just added to the system a few minutes ago, that's why I hurried here to finish my errand! Let's go check it out!" She's about to explode from excitement so he should check it out first. He was patient and could put off exploring by himself for a bit. He had initially planned to get the highest point of the area so that he could get a rough overview of the whole place. After a brisk walk up a large hill, through a park and past the beach, they arrived at what seemed to be a forest clearing. They were greeted by the DPC (Dream Player Character) which Yui affectionately linked the resemblance to an NPC (Non-Player Character) due to their purpose and eternal curse to repeat the same lines over and over again in the same voice. Yui took 3 large strides in while humming to herself while Shidou gingerly entered this unknown realm. "Hey what are you doing over there? Hurry up and get over here, the fun's about to start! According to the guide, this area is called A Dream's Creation. You can create whatever you imagine up, in exchange for credit chips of course. I'm gonna go ahead and try first then. Okay, I want… oh, I know! Flight! lemme fly around freely." Shidou had known Yui since they were both children, however, he still couldn't decide if she was too carefree or ignorant of any potential risks. "Granted, that will be 50 credit chips." The voice came from all around them. Were there hidden speakers or something? "Okay, no problem. Alright, I'm off Shidou!" She took a few paces back before rushing into an all-out sprint. After the fifth step, she took one big jump and began ascending, far above the surrounding trees, up until she cast a large shadow over the sun. After a few brisk laps of the area, she halted about 20 feet or so above Shidou. She was a little out of breath and was huffing slightly, either from exhaustion or excitement. However, there was an issue about where she positioned herself relative to Shidou. "Haaah… yeah, this is great! Shidou you've gotta try this out as well! the air's cool up here and the view's so pretty." "U-Um… could you move somewhere else first before you say anything else? It's… showing…" "huh? what are you talking abou… AH! WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE LOOKING! PERVERT!" Shidou felt his face flush a deep red while she started moving away, holding her dress down all the while. He turned his head to the side and faced the floor, trying to play it off as just a misunderstanding. He could have just not mentioned it and that would've probably been a better idea, still what's done is done. While nodding to himself a strange sizzling noise caught his attention. He turned around to see a now lowered Yui, however, her eyes are now a fiery red colour and she seems to be shaking uncontrollably. This can't possibly end well. "Hey, Shidou Yume? could you do me a quick favour and walk over here? I have a gift that I want you to have." "w-well I think we can save that for later right? we don't need to do that right now. Yeah, let's just do it later." "AH FORGET ABOUT IT, SUMMON FIREBALLS AND ATTACK SHIDOU!" Large molten balls began to form around Yui as she shouts these words and unfairly orders them to charge headfirst at Shidou. As each blast zips by the trees and heads towards him, time seemed to slow down. Suddenly, Shidou felt very light, his mind was clear and confidence filled his chest. He had to do something about these fireballs- and quickly at that. He needed some way out, a way to either escape or redirect them. Something. At this fated moment, was when he first met her.


	2. Chapter 2

"If you don't want to die, then co-operate with me. Focus your thoughts and picture a barrier- as strong as you can make it." A foreign voice is the only noise Shidou can hear at this moment. so many questions flood into his head, but this is not the time to be pondering. He needed to act. What did she say? A barrier? He had to try, it's better than being reduced to cinders- even if it is in a dream. He closed his eyes and focus on a large bubble-shaped barrier that will surround him. He thinks back to the games that he had played in the past for reference. A barrier is a temporary shield from exterior damage, to lessen the harm done to the user. The image begins to form in his mind as he searches the memory banks of his brain, withdrawing memories to bring to the surface. Shidou reached deep and pull them out, memory fragments flowing through his mind like a gallery of art passing through his eyes in the span of an instant. A warm feeling envelops his chest and a barrier exactly like he had pictured starts forming around him, dimming his surroundings ever so slightly as it rippled around him. As the barrier formed, a bracelet that read D-DEF wrapped itself around his left wrist. The clear white strap made its way around his wrist and a LED screen menu flashed up above it. It read: 'Dream Defence, emergency activation'. Just as this happened he was thrown back into reality. The fireballs came hurtling towards him but stop dead as it hits the barrier. He flinched at the impact, the third impact hitting the floor, knocking him off his feet. He was in the air for an unusually long time before he hit the ground again. Drenched in sweat and gasping for air, he tried to upright himself, using his arms for support. It seemed that the impact of hitting the floor had winded him a bit. A bright light enveloped Shidou before he passed out.

The wind whistles gently, caressing my face as it works around the curves, bumping into each minor imperfection. The warm sunrays massage my eyelids as I lay on the hill, engulfed in natures embrace. Beneath me lies the whole earth as it rotates me around in the infinitely expanding universe. The smell of fresh flowers and a light tint of sweetness tickles my nose as I flare it, each breath I take filling me up with pure relaxation. However, a dark presence suddenly looms over. It forces every particle around out into a dark void. The wind dies out and leaves the air silent. Suffering silence chokes me, forcing me upwards. Gripping my heart, I struggle to breathe. Something is behind me and it's approaching fast. The hairs on my back stand as straight as poles, rigid with fear. I turn my head, ready to face fate, only to be stopped halfway as a shadow fills my vision until nothing remains.

"oww, what the-" Shidou rubs the back his head, a yawn escaping his gaping mouth. He turned to his right to see Yui's deep blue eyes fill with tears as she stifles her giggles. "Shi-Shidou, your… your hair, it's great! Stay right there, that expression is priceless." Yui cracks open her phone and with two hands, takes several dozen photos, all in different angles and positions. It was during Maths that Shidou decided to take a short nap while the teacher was droning away, pointing to various graphs and symbols. Yui saw this as destiny and made the most of the situation. She took her mighty erasure and, with a pitch that would make even the most talented baseball players proud, launched the projectile towards the back of Shidou's head. It raced through the air, dodging and weaving through all the debris and particles that lay in its way. It was just like an angry asteroid being launched from a cannon in space. Upon contact, it planted itself firmly in Shidou's neck. Like a flag on the moon, it claimed its rightful place on the back of his head for all of .15 seconds before disappearing into the abyss. All of this was dismissed by a few rubs of a hand. While Yui fist bumps the air in victory, it was evident that she understood little to nothing in Math's as she was paying just as much attention as Shidou was to class. Shidou sighs before turning back around, his neck turning red. With the "slightly" rude awakenings past, now was the time to get sweet vengeance. All his life Shidou has lost to Yui in every competition and every time she brags about being "one year older". Shidou was going to have no more. "Strike while the iron is hot" melted into his mind as he exaggerated his movements to reach into his notepad, frantically jotting down scribbles filled with what could only be described as "desires". With one swift motion, Shidou jots down an intricate plan that involved breadcrumbs, lots of paint and maybe a destroyed pillow or two. While Shidou quietly laughs to himself in the corner of the room, the lesson carried on, the students completely used to the duo causing chaos during class. After several hundred sheep were counted, the lesson finally came to an end. It took several moments before Shidou realized that he had attracted a small crowd around. They peered around at him, quizzically inspecting which angle of attack to approach from. After several frowns and raised eyebrows, Shidou addresses his audience with a large shout. "I WASN'T ASLEEP DURING CLASS OKAY? I WAS LOOKING WITH MY THIRD EYE!"

"You must be crazy if you think that anyone is going to fall for that one, Yume-kun. I could hear a few girls behind me holding back their laughter. What were you doing during class afterwords anyway? I could hear you scratching your notepad from across the classroom"

"Uh… um, it's nothing important, I was just taking notes honest!" Shidou quickly folds over his notepad and returns it to his bag, placing it at the rear end where a secondary pocket was installed for added security. The notepad has too much information in it and he couldn't risk anyone reading it. How could he live with himself if people saw him as a weirdo? Despite this risk, Shidou still takes it with him to school every day as he regularly adds to it so that he doesn't forget anything later. He learned from experience how precious memory is and that it shouldn't be taken for granted so he concluded that by writing everything down (even if it contained sensitive information) was the best solution to this. "Anyway, it's fine, if I missed anything during class, I have my oh-so-lovely honour student to help me out anyway right~?"

"You really have no shame, do you? Last time we held a last-minute homework meetup because you left all your homework until the very end of the holidays! I would have hoped that you would learn from your past mistakes but clearly, you have the learning capacity of a Tanuki."

"It's fine, isn't it? I get the work done before it's due to be submitted. Anyway, I heard that a certain someone got asked out again. Must be difficult being popular with a bunch of girls."

Suddenly the Student Council President steps in, her long silver streaking hair hovering over Shidou's desk as she confronts the slacker.

"Don't try and change the topic Yume-san, I can see right through your plan. First, you shouldn't be falling asleep during class. What time did you get to sleep last night? Were you up all night playing video games? You really should pay attention to your health."

She says this with an outstretched finger and a hand on her hip. A classic pose to be lecturing someone with. She must be used to this kind of thing, the students in this school aren't as well-mannered as they should be and often spends her time disciplining anyone unfortunate enough to get caught under her radar. "I'm not wasting my lunch time here. Come with me Yume-san, me and you are going to have words."

Without waiting for a reply, the student council president grabbed Shidou by the arm, much to the annoyance of Yui and disappeared past the corner of the classroom door. A faint cry for help could be heard before it faded away before being overshadowed by the general noise of the hall.

"Shall we go and get some lunch as well Takimoto-kun? The lunch ques should be quite short if we hurry, we need to join Shidou, who knows what Kazuki-chan will do alone with him!"

Yui was jogging on the spot while slinging a bag over her shoulder, her bright blue eyes darting between her purse and the clock, scanning for spare change. With a large sigh, Reijiro Takimoto, who recently comes into the spotlight due to someone finding out that his father is the CEO of HIDE, finally departed his chair and left the room without another word. Yui skipped alongside him, almost dropping a few coins that were bouncing around in her hands.

The door to the roof opened with a sharp squeak, it's steel hinges sighing like an old man finally getting up from his sofa after several generations had passed. The student council president, Kazuki Nishikawa took 3 graceful steps into the area, pausing for a while before turning her head over her shoulder to face Shidou, her silver hair dancing in the wind as it flow freely.

"Is something the matter Yume-kun? You seemed rather listless during class. It's not like you to doze off like that."

"I guess that's the pres for you, nothing ever gets past you does it?"

"It has something to do with that thing that you tried doesn't it? The Dream Konnect? What happened? The others aren't here so you can tell me about it."

"So that was the purpose of this huh? you didn't want to worry everyone else."

"You always had a habit of keeping things to yourself whenever you're troubled

Shidou reported everything that happened but was hesitant to mention the extra credit that he had received at the start and decided to skip over it. He had decided before to just keep it between himself and Yui. "just when things were about to get dangerous, I heard a strange but familiar voice. It was the only thing that saved me at that moment." Shidou closed his eyes as he replayed the whole scene in his head, the few seconds that passed, felt like several minutes to him. It was strange, he couldn't describe the feeling he had when the voice spoke to him. He could only feel a tight grip on his heart and a heavy sense of deja-vu. This grabbed the attention of Kazuki as her eyes sharpened when she heard this. She turned around fully and faced Shidou. "What did the voice say to you? do you remember?"

"Yeah, the voice told me to-"

"Hiyaa! first, woo!" The door cracked open with a loud cry, the old man now on the floor in agony as the door slammed into the wall beside it causing it to bounce back and hit Reijiro on the head, almost sending him back down the set of stairs that he had climbed up. With just a leg sticking out from the hollow space of which a door used to be, Yui hummed to herself in victory as Reijiro gripped the wall, gasping for air.

"She is a monster! Who in the right mind would jump up the stairs three steps at a time?"

"Shidou! I managed to get a melon pan for you! It was the last one, you owe me back for this!" Yui covered the distance between them almost immediately and pushed the melon pan into Shidou's mouth before he could even get his next breath out. Shidou nonchalantly took one bite of it before returning it to the packaging.

"Hmm? what were you and Kazuki-chan talking about? Were you planning a date? Gees Shidou, I told you not to cheat, didn't I?" Yui pouted slightly, glaring at Shidou while her blazing blue eyes pierced into him. Shidou put a hand on Yui's head and gently pushed her+ head out of the way, ignoring her obvious provocations.

"Sorry, but can we finish this conversation later pres? Let me know whenever you're available."

Yui stared at both of them with a dumbstruck expression, her blazing blue eyes now extinguished to two deep puddles.

"So you are planning a date! Is Shidou going to leave me for another woman? Wait I'll make you another Omurice, it'll make you change your mind, I swear!"

"You just think about food, don't you? Plus, you wrote something weird on it last time. We're not going on a date, I was just telling her about yesterday when I was using the Dream Konnect, that's all so calm down."

"Oh… it's not like I was worried or anything! I-I was just wondering is all." Yui's face flushes a deep red as she turns away to hide. This made Shidou take a step back as he had only rarely seen this side of Yui. The rare Tsun side to her dere. As tempting as it seemed, Shidou decided to spare Yui of any further embarrassment and let it slip.

"well, why don't we have lunch now? I've already set out the blanket, would you care to join us? Suzumiya-san, Takimoto-san?"

Yui instantly perked up, planting herself next to Shidou while unpackaging her fresh Taiyaki which she had wrapped earlier. Her face disappeared into it as she munched away while everyone else began to sit down. Reijiro adjusted his glasses before sitting down, his eyes fixed on his phone.

"Any new updates?" Shidou peered over Reijiro's shoulder, adjusting his hair as the wind picked up.

"Just some minor bug fixes and such, after the latest stable build, there has not been reports of any significant issues. It is just browsing the past at this point. Father told me to ask the pupils here for feedback, which is why I joined you today, I need to ask the president for permission to create a questionnaire to distribute." With that, just as he had sat down, he got back up and got his notes out where Reijiro and Kazuki disappeared into a serious, business-like conversation.

Since everyone was occupied with their own devices, Shidou found himself alone. He decided to use this time to relax and think back, as far back as he could. According to his parents, he was involved in an accident of some sorts a year ago which caused him to lose memory of everything that happened in the last ten years. The only link he had to his lost childhood was Yui, who has been with him all this time. Despite being a pain to put up with at times, Yui was invaluable to Shidou. He knew that Yui had always been hyperactive since they were small, but she does it to keep Shidou from worrying about his past and to focus on the present. Shidou felt guilty and could only imagine the pain that Yui felt that one day when Shidou had almost forgot who she was. Shidou felt powerless and hated that he didn't know anything about himself when he woke up on that hospital bed. He had been defined by those around him, but with some help, got back onto his feet and was living a regular high school life again. He learned to not hate himself and started to build himself up again with new friends around him and new experiences, he could manage. However, something that bothered him was that perhaps there was more to his past? Why is Yui the only part of his past that he could remember? Was there another person who he was close to in the past? But the biggest thing that clouded Shidou's mind was that yesterday in the Dream Konnect was his first time experiencing déjà vu. Who was behind that strange voice that he had heard? Just thinking about it made his heart race and his skin shudder. His thoughts spiralled around for a while before frustration smacked him across the head. realising that he wasn't getting anywhere, Shidou finished his melon pan along with some of the snacks that Kazuki brought along before laying down, the sun varying in intensity over his eyes as clouds passed over. With the gentle sound of talking and light munching in the background, lunch came to a peaceful end before everyone returned to class. Shidou made sure to not doze off this time and felt much better for the rest of the day. Maybe he was just stressed and needed a small break to reboot his system and start afresh.


	3. Chapter 3

Shidou lay down in his familiar pose, feigning ignorance. With his head between his arms, Shidou was again down for the count during maths- at least that's how it would appear from the outside. He had a simple but effective plan. Shidou knew that this was too good an opportunity for Yui to just give up, even if it was the same as yesterday. What she wouldn't know what that Shidou was ready to act this time. After school yesterday, he had spent the entire day practising his reaction speeds. From the ruler game to online reaction tests, he was sure that he would win this time. In his mind, he had envisioned how it would play out. During the class, as soon as Yui yawned, that would be her signal that she was getting bored and it was a 50/50 chance that she would then turn to Shidou for entertainment. During this time when she realises that Shidou was asleep, she'll most likely throw something at him again. However, this time Shidou was ready, he was going to wait until the very last moment before swiftly evading the projectile and finally claim victory for himself.

Everything was going to plan. Yui had given her signal, all Shidou had to do was find the perfect moment. His head was down so he couldn't see when Yui was going to attack, but he had known her for a long time. His best guess would be that she would attack immediately after getting bored. Sure enough, his ear twitched as he heard the flick of a finger and movement in the air. It would be hard to dodge. The distance between them was slightly over an arm's length gap between them, close enough to steal each other's textbooks but far away enough to not bother each other. With all his might, Shidou jerked his body upwards, reaching for the skies. The projectile narrowly missed his right arm, passing under it as it bounced off the desk, where his head used to rest.

"Victory!" Shidou yells with his arms outstretched, announcing to the world his greatest feat.

"W-what? How did you know? I thought you were asleep! You tricked me, didn't you?"

Shidou flicked his hair, snapped his finger and pointed towards the shocked Yui. "Exactly. For the past ten years, I have constantly been second fiddle, a puppet for you to manipulate whenever you were bored. I had to lay in the shadow while you controlled everything backstage, always one step ahead of me. No matter how brilliant my plan, you would always have a counter for it. Do you know how many brain cells I have sacrificed to make this happen? But no more! Today I chose to rise up and take my victory and wow does it feel good."

The rest of the class cheers after him. Roars and shouts surround him as people run up to his desk, applauding and patting him on the back as he stands there victorious.

"N-no way! You've adapted to my style that much? I was so sure that my technique was flawless! Not even if you slowed down time by a million times should anyone be able to dodge that!"

The back and forth continued until the end of the class, neither side backing down. Shidou held a smug grin the entire time, an air of superiority surrounded him while Yui desperately tried her best to defend her pride. Soon it was lunch time and that meant food. No matter what may be happening in her life, Yui was not about to miss food. Something dramatic must need to happen for her to priorities something above food.

"…you don't know anything about that. Anyway, gimme my locket back, it's really important to me Shidou."

"Sorry, your what? I don't have it, what are you talking about?"

"Y'know the thing that I threw at you."

"Attempted to throw you mean." Shidou corrected.

"Yeah yeah whatever you win, just gimme it back already!"

"Like I said already I don't have it. If it's so precious, then why did you throw it in the first place?"

Yui paused for a moment, her bright blue eyes widened as she realised the mistake that she had made.

"Ahh… yeah I guess I didn't think about that, usually, it just bounces off your big head and I pick it up later – or rather I make you pick it up for me."

"it's because of your ignorance that this happened. It doesn't matter, it's in the past." Shidou averted his eyes. "Let's go look for it, c'mon you don't want to miss lunch, do you? the faster you find it, the quicker you get food."

Yui's eyes lightened up at the prospect of food, her energy bar quickly skyrocketing past 100. Shidou knew that food would bring her back up, he didn't intend to make her feel sad, he just wanted a bit of glory as payback for so many years. Having had his fun, there was no need for Yui to get hung up about it, so Shidou decided to take her out for lunch on the weekends.

They searched around for ten minutes or so around the classroom, mainly around where Shidou's desk was. Yui tried her best to remain calm, however, it was obvious that she was worried, searching frantically around the classroom, causing the rest of the class to start noticing. Was it due to the prospect of food that caused this sudden burst of motivation or was the thing that Yui lost that important to her?

A further ten minutes passed, their results ending in failure. It seemed hopeless. No matter where they searched, it was not to be seen anywhere. They had expanded the search out to other classes to help but similar results were received. Yui sank into her seat looking uncharacteristically exhausted. She lowered her sorrowful blue eyes as she sprawled herself on her desk, her bright pink hair funding covering the desk. With a deep sigh, Shidou started to approach her, carefully choosing the words he should use to make her feel better. He took one step into the classroom, when Kazuki Nishikawa, the student council president walked past him, quickly and with authority. "Suzumiya-san? What is it exactly that you lost? We can't help unless you give us more details." "Hmm? Oh... hey Kazuki-Chan, what's up?" "Can you give me some details on the thing that you lost, what does it look like?" Yui hesitated a little before describing its appearance, but bit her tongue on the last line, holding back some information. It was clear that she did not want to divulge more information than she needed to. "So, it's a small pendant with something inside it and no matter what it cannot be opened, correct?" "Yeah that about sums it up."

"you said that you threw it, what direction were you facing?" "Of course. I was facing Shidou stop towards the left of the class." Kazuki narrowed her gaze and touched her chin with her hands. After a pause, she put all the information together. "So, is it possible that the window was open, and it landed outside?" Yui's eyes slowly widened, the energy flooding back into her swirling blue eyes. "Yes! Yes, it must be outside, there's a small forest area next to the school, right? It probably landed on one of the bushes. I'm gonna go get it. Hold on my baby! Mommy's coming to get you! In a flash, Yui was out of the classroom and jumping down the stairs, her voice fading as she disappeared. Kazuki smiles a little before gracefully pivoting on the spot and exiting. All of this happened so quickly that Shidou was too stunned to move. He slapped himself on the face with both hands before chasing after Yui. At the time he paid no attention to how Kazuki knew where it was and was just grateful that she was able to help.

By the time Shidou ran around the corner of the school into the forest, Yui was already on her knees, scrambling in between the bushes just below their class. It may have been the school's walls that were blocking the sunlight, bit this area received little light and sent shivers up Shidou's spine. The air seemed ominous around him as if the area held a deeper meaning. Thinking back, Shidou had known about this area before, but never found a reason to explore it. This forest was popular with thrill seekers during holidays and festivals took place nearby, making the area perfect for purple looking to do a test of courage. They would wait until the dead of night before inching into the forest, uncertain of the consequences of their actions. The area is usually considered out of bounds and is sealed off to the public, a mighty signpost and tape stand guard, vigilantly protecting the area. Something about the areas made Shidou feel like he should avoid it. His feet got heavy and his mind clouded up. He had never been here before- that is he didn't remember ever being there before. Shidou decided that he was probably just a bit hungry as it was lunch time and returned to his senses when Yui noticed him and called him over.

"Shidou! Come quick! It was here- I saw it! But now it's gone, I can't find it again!" "Woah slow down, you're not making any sense. What do you mean?" "it's just gone Shidou! I blinked and it kinda just disappeared." "Lemme see, maybe you moved it when you were trying to reach out to get it, you're too clumsy so I wouldn't be surprised if you lost it again." Shidou kneeled now next to Yui, ushering her to move over and began scattering the leaves and branches around the area. His mind wondered as he aimlessly moved his hands through the bushes, hoping to catch it between his fingers. After a while, he didn't see any signs of the locket and sighed as he rose to his feet, patting away at his knees. "Are you sure it's over here? there's no sign of it."

"I'm sure it's around here, I had it, but it slipped away!"

"Don't be ridiculous, it can't have just moved by itself you know. Who knows, maybe you started daydreaming again."

"Yeah that's possible- no wait, under normal circumstances that would make sense yes, but not this time! This is way too important for my brain to start idling!"

"Well, we're gonna have to come back to it, if it's really here then it's not going to move. Lunch is gonna be over at this rate."

"What time is it?" Yui murmurs while fumbling around at her pockets, searching for her phone. "it's already this late? if I sprint _really_ fast right now, I might still make it!" She dashes towards the corner that Shidou had come from, stopping right before she was out of view from Shidou. "Thanks, Shidou… for helping me find it, we'll find it later right?" Shidou felt a slight sadness in that sentence as she disappeared from his sight. After pondering for a while, Shidou decided to return to his class. He thought that maybe if he relaxed a bit, he could see the situation from another angle where he wasn't stressed about the situation.


	4. Chapter 4

"Welcome back Shidou, you have 200 credits to use today. Please enjoy your stay."

Shidou slowly opened his eyes. He was greeted by various floating platforms and a pink-tinted sky. He was back at the Main Hub. The place seemed to have a larger crowd than before. It was Saturday, therefore more people would have free time on their hands. Shidou was no different. After rolling around in his one-bedroom apartment wrapping his brain around the homework that was due on Monday and the inevitable divine punishment that would await him if he failed to hand it in, Shidou put it on halt and escaped into the Dream Konnect.

It was easy to distinguish between the DPC and other people. DPC always have a festive attire that suits the season and had a certain headset like the Dream Konnect in shape, a distinct colour for each type of DPC. Green headsets were for general requests such as escorting to a certain area or to fetch certain items. They have the lowest rewards but also have next to no risk of doing them.

Next were the Red headsets. They oversaw maintaining peace and providing certain areas with energy to build up to events. This included slaying monsters or capturing rare creatures based off myths, this was a large hit for young men who were obsessed with being a hero and fighting strong monsters. Once monsters were defeated, people can collect energy from them using a provided jar and hand them in for not only credit but also to participate in the upcoming events. The upcoming event is the Spring festival. Not much information is known but it is said that a large dragon will descend on whoever collects the most energy and grant them a wish.

Last, the yellow headsets were DPC who resembled merchants. They provide people with consumables and equipment for rent. By exchanging credit, people can prepare before they venture out if they plan on going somewhere dangerous. The further from the Main Hub that people ventured, the more dangerous it became; However, people may purchase a safety item that will prevent them from encountering anything dangerous if they wish to explore, however, they will not be able to take requests from any Red headset DPC until they return the item.

Shidou arched his head towards the large clock tower. It read "10 past 10." He paced around for a bit, annoyed that his so-called 'guide' was late. He was plenty capable of taking a request by himself, however, he wanted to cheer Yui up after what happened at school. He felt partially responsible for what happened, therefore he asked Yui to assist in his first adventure. While coming up with a list of reasons as to why Yui may be late, he felt a light prod on his right shoulder. As he turned his head, he felt another prod that went into his cheek, the person's nail pressing uncomfortably on his face. Past the finger, Shidou spotted a pouting Yui, bent over and glaring daggers at him. Rather confused as to why Yui was annoyed with him, he straightened himself and faced her.

"Where were you? I was waiting here for ages. You're like thirty minutes late!"

"Why are you waiting here? I told you to meet me underneath the Old Wisdom Tree, didn't I? I said that the Main Hub was too crowded, and we'd spent forever looking for each other. But under the spirit tree, it'd be nice and quiet."

"You know, now that you spell it out, that does make sense, however, you missed out one important detail."

"Oh? and what would that be, oh wise one."

"As generous as you are for helping me out, it might be helpful if you pointed me towards the whereabouts of the spirit tree in the first place, don't you think?"

"it's not like it's hard to find. Anyway, you're treating me to lunch next time. Let's go! the night is young! let us go to where the stars take us!"

"That's not exactly what a guide should be saying is it?" Shidou sighed at Yui's ignorance as he ran to catch up with Yui, who was skipping ahead, humming an annoying tune.

Yui stopped in front of a large bulletin board, plucked off a piece of paper and handed it over to the nearby DPC. The bulletin board was surrounded by people who were gazing at it from top to bottom. Its red colour shone brightly and made it easily distinguishable from a distance as it stood out from the greenery that surrounded the area. Stars hovered above each piece of paper indicating its danger level. They ranged from one star to five, one being the least dangerous and five being the most dangerous. The term "dangerous" is used lightly as there is no actual pain nor death nor any discomfort when it comes to monster slaying. Upon leaving the safe areas, people will have five "lives" that will be consumed upon contact with anything marked as "dangerous". This included any form of attack; projectile or hazardous terrain will consume a life. When someone's total life count reaches zero, they will be teleported back to the hub and have 50% of their credits taken away as a result.

"Hey! I found the most perfect request that we can do together!" Yui shoved the piece of paper up to Shidou's eye level, almost blasting him in the nose as it stopped a few inches from his face."

"Woah too close! I can't read it!" Shidou took the piece of paper and skimmed over it. "Lemme see. So, we're going to… exterminate some raiding trolls at a nearby forest. Sounds easy enough, but why this one?"

"I'm glad you asked Shidou! This request is limited to once a month, but rumour has it that deep in the forest, there is hidden treasure! plus you're pretty lucky mister I-started-with-two-hundred-credits."

"Shhh, I told you to keep a low-profile about that didn't I? What if someone overhears us and gets jealous?"

Yui raised an eyebrow at Shidou, unimpressed.

"We're stopping by the yellow DPC first anyway, you're basically naked right now, we need you to look your best if you're gonna be hanging out with me."

Without skipping a beat, Yui pivoted on the spot and headed east towards the vendors. With Shidou's extra bonus, he ended up with more than he probably needed, but it was a valuable experience. Yui seemed to be having a lot of fun at least while Shidou felt more like a doll playing dress up rather than a warrior about to set off on an adventure. Shidou decided to outfit himself with a basic sword and shield combo along with basic leather armour to cover himself. This armour set gave him an extra two lives. Rather pleased with the outcome, Shidou wondered what kind of weapon Yui would use. Maybe she would use a bow and arrow combo since she's so fast and quick on her feet, or a Greatsword to smite anything that encounters her seemingly endless energy that exuded from her, or perhaps she took a liking to magic after experiencing fire magic for the first time recently. Filled with wonder, Shidou turns around to find that Yui is-

"Gonna have to go with the big guns! Yaaaa!" Yui lets out a war cry as she pulls out an enormous cylinder from thin air, spins it around and slams it into the ground.

"What… what is that thing your holding? Is that a massive club or something that you're gonna use? How are we gonna loot them if you golf swing that thing into their face?"

"it's not a club Shidou, it's a… you know what, you'll see for yourself once we get out there, hurry up, let's go let's go!"

Yui lifts her hand and two small puffs of cloud appear. She explains that they are basically a taxi service and can transfer people over large distances for the price of a few credits. The two of them floated above the landscape as they are taken off the safety of land and begin accelerating away to new areas. Yui sits with a smile on her face as the wind blows through her hair, her bright blue eyes full of life as they stood out from the pink tinted clouds. She happily hummed a catchy tune to herself while she bobbed her head along. Shidou's eyes widened as he sped forwards. Farms, ice caps, volcanic sites, marshes, they flew over all of them. They greeted other people along the way, it seemed like a lot of people caught wind of the hidden treasure and came to try their luck. The clouds did an excellent job of avoiding any collisions as they effortlessly danced around each other. Despite the air being so vast, the clouds have a set path to fly, therefore people can easily crowd around one specific area while travelling. Shidou made a mental note of four other places that he already wanted to go and explore later and soon they had arrived at the forest.


End file.
